When young girls dream about being mommies someday, they don’t think about how hard pregnancy is on the body or the many trials and tribulations that will happen before and after childbirth. But no matter how much you have to suffer in order to bring new life into this world, you will still want to have a baby when the time is right. Just be sure that you don’t get blindsided by one of the most common pregnancy problems: morning sickness. But you’re not doomed to feel green around the gills for the entire duration of your pregnancy; use these morning sickness cures to battle nausea and have a happy nine months getting ready for the little one…

Pregnancy is a special, intimate event, and once you decide to build a family you’ll be overjoyed at the baby you’re about to have. But don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s going to be all smiles and laughter. With all the drastic changes and fluctuating hormones that occur within your body, pregnancy can be a very rough time for some women. Although morning sickness occurs in an estimated 70% of all pregnancies, you can reduce your nausea with a little know-how.

When to Expect Morning Sickness

Don’t be fooled by the phrase “morning” sickness – nausea and vomiting can strike at any time of the day. This misnomer about morning sickness often leaves women confused and unsure how to deal with feelings of nausea in the afternoon. So just remember: No matter what time of day you regularly experience nausea, it’s still “morning” sickness.

Pregnancy-related nausea usually starts to occur around the sixth week of pregnancy and often lasts through the first trimester. About 50% of women experience relief after the fourteenth week, but for some women it can take longer before the feelings go away.

The exact causes of morning sickness are not perfectly clear, but most experts agree that morning sickness is related to fluctuating hormones during pregnancy. Levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCg) and estrogen rise quickly in the early stages of pregnancy, and some theorize that these hormones may be partially responsible for pregnancy nausea.

Some women are more prone to morning sickness than others. Being pregnant with more than one baby at a time can make you more susceptible to nausea. Also, women who have experienced nausea in a previous pregnancy, experienced nausea from taking birth control pills, have a high susceptibility to motion sickness, or suffer from migraines are more likely to experience morning sickness than their peers. One surprising study found that women who carry female babies are 50% more likely to suffer from morning sickness than women carrying a boy, but not all experts support this theory.

The Dangers of Morning Sickness

Providing proper nourishment for your baby during pregnancy is of utmost importance, so if you’re throwing up everything you eat, should you be concerned? Yes, because your baby can’t grow without being fed. You need to eat an extra 300 calories every day during pregnancy to nourish both you and your baby, but throwing up your food removes vital calories and nutrients from your body. If you are vomiting more than three or four times a day, and you are losing weight because of it, you need to see your doctor right away. You should also try to replace those nutrients with food right away, even if you risk throwing up again, because it’s worth the chance that you might be able to keep something down.

Another concern with severe morning sickness is the possibility that you could become dehydrated, which could be dangerous to both you and your baby. Drink plenty of water during your pregnancy whether you experience morning sickness or not, but you should also make sure to drink a tall glass of water after each time vomiting occurs.

There are a few things you can do to avoid nausea during pregnancy, and most of them have to do with what you eat and how you eat it. Try these morning sickness cures:

- Eat a small meal every two or three hours whether you’re hungry or not.

- Drink fluids regularly, especially after vomiting. Staying hydrated during pregnancy is important to your health and your baby’s health.

- Stand up slowly from the bed, chair, couch, or anywhere that you are to avoid a sudden onset of dizziness and nausea.

- Take a few moments every few hours to just stop and clear your mind. This will reduce stress that can trigger an upset stomach.

- Exercise every day, especially out of doors. Taking a walk is the perfect way to get some crisp, clean, fresh air.

- Eat before bed, when you wake up in the middle of the night and as soon as you wake up in the morning, before you get out of bed. Have bland snacks, such as saltine crackers, ready by your bed for these times.

- Write down a list of foods that make you nauseous. This log will help you avoid your trigger foods the next time.

Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy

Certain foods can trigger nausea more than others, so it’s important that you avoid these foods if you’re battling morning sickness. Use this list of foods that commonly cause nausea during pregnancy to help you avoid morning sickness:

- Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.

- Caffeinated beverages, like coffee and soda

- Fried and greasy foods, like French fries, pepperoni pizza and fried chicken.

- Spicy and pungent foods, like garlic, onions and sausage.

Foods to Eat During Pregnancy to Calm Your Tummy

In addition to avoiding foods that can trigger nausea, you should also know which foods will calm your tummy when you’re feeling a bit queasy:

Don’t let the joys of pregnancy be ruined by morning sickness. If you follow our tips and take the focus off of nausea, you’ll have time for much more important things – like deciding whether the nursery should be decked out in pink or blue.

What’s Your Supplement IQ?

You know that taking calcium supplements can help build strong bones when you don’t eat enough dairy foods, but do you really know all that you should about supplements? Beyond the world of basic nutrition, there’s an entirely different solar system of weird, wacky and wonderful facts about vitamins, minerals and herbs. Here’s your chance to find out whether your supplement IQ is really as high as you think it is and build your nutrition knowledge. Click here to take this quiz.